


wish we could turn back time

by Prussian_Budapest



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: But only a little, Hogwarts, M/M, Multi, Time Travel, angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 18:37:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15847038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prussian_Budapest/pseuds/Prussian_Budapest
Summary: 117. Baekhyun always wonders why professors Kim Jongdae and Kim Minseok always looks at him with such sadness and wistfulness - Until one day, a freak accident with a Time Turner throws him ten years back into the past.





	wish we could turn back time

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Exolliarmus2018. Thanks to the mods, my beta (Xiuchenship9921), Loona and the life is strange soundtrack. Thanks most of all to EXO and the submitter of this prompt!

“I’m going to fail my NEWT charms and at this point I don’t care,” Baekhyun complained to Junmyeon as they were walking to lunch.  
“You’re not going to fail. You got an A in the practise test professor Kim handed out - stop stressing out.” Junmyeon reassured him. He received only a sigh. “What is it?” Baekhyun ignored his questioning.  
“Oh my god, maybe it’s my academic ability that makes both professors Kim hate me. That’s why they’ve been staring at me weirdly all year! They knew I was going to fail.”  
“Are they still being weird around you?” Junmyeon asked.  
“Yes. I mean I thought it was just a fluke when they both stuttered over my name in the register on the first day. Ever since then whenever I ask a question or put my hand up to answer or do anything they still look at me weirdly. The other day when I was walking in the corridor they backtracked to avoid walking past me. It’s as if I met them in a past life and killed their shared pet puppy!” Baekhyun exclaimed.  
He was really fed up with the way that both professors Kim seemed to treat him. It was like they were going out of their way to ignore his presence in their classes.   
“Seriously, don’t dwell on it, Baekhyun. You’re only going to get yourself all worked up. Now come on! You should be worried about whether or not you’ll manage to eat the strawberry mousse before Chanyeol does.” Junmyeon advised wisely.  
“You’re so right!” Baekhyun yelled as they passed the courtyard.  
“How are you not stressed though? You’re taking an ungodly amount of subjects. Honestly Junmyeon I have no idea how you fit everything in.”  
He received a laugh.  
“It must be my magical time management skills.” They must have passed one of the first years receiving extra tutoring because Junmyeon’s bag started levitating and a high pitched scream was heard when whoever it was realised they’d accidentally made a prefect’s bag float, and a seventh-year prefect at that.

“Don’t worry I’ll get it down for you,” Baekhyun reassured as he started jumping up to try to reach the bag. Junmyeon whipped out his wand and whispered the counter spell - “Finite Incantatem” - to cancel all the spells in the vicinity. But the first year must have tried to manoeuvre the bag down because it moved a little and a little gold thing fell out. Baekhyun grabbed the object thanking his reflexes.  
“Baekhyun don’t! The spell on it has been cancelled. DROP IT NOW BAEKH-” He could vaguely hear Junmyeon’s scream. But the world was suddenly spinning and he was very dizzy. He landed on the floor weirdly and the world faded to black.

 

He felt something hit him. Ouch. He tried to tell whatever it was to stop but the only noise that came out was a short high pitched whine. He curled up to protect his stomach from being kicked again. A somewhat familiar voice cut through the haze in his mind. “Uhh, Minnie this guy doesn’t look too good. What are we going to do with him?”

Another voice answered. “Well, what house does he belong to? If we can’t get him to his common room we could just haul his ass to the Room and figure out what to do from there. At least there’ll be enough light to see his face.”  
A chuckle. “You’re definitely the Ravenclaw here. I think he’s wearing a Gryffindor tie but it’s hard to see in this light. Do you think you can carry him by yourself? Wait, I’ve just been feeling up your abs. You are so carrying him yourself. I’ll grab whatever it is he’s holding so he doesn’t drop it”

Baekhyun could feel himself being lifted up. He was still so dizzy and he just couldn’t force his eyes open. At least whoever it was that was carrying him was warm. He snuggled closer to the warmth and felt his body go even more boneless. However, the warm body was now walking back and forth which would normally be relaxing except for the fact it kept shaking him. The voices were talking again and Baekhyun was unceremoniously dropped on a sofa. “Ow!” He whined. He whined again when he felt a hand slapping his face gently. “Wakey wakey sunshine. Honestly, what is a Gryffindor doing so late out at night? There aren’t any villains to vanquish.”  
He forced his eyes open, wincing at the light in the Room. Two people were standing over him watching him. They looked really familiar…

“professors Kim? What am I doing here?” Baekhyun looked around confusedly. He was still coming to his senses after whatever the fuck it was he had just experienced. He was in some sort of room. It looked a little bit like the infirmary but instead of a row of beds, he was on a sofa. “Where’s Junmyeon? Did I collapse in the courtyard?” He asked puzzled at their presence. He glanced around while trying to piece together what had happened. “Why am I here?” He repeated. “I just had charms and I don’t have transfiguration until Wednesday.”  
While he was surveying the room he missed the look that the two exchanged.  
“You must be confused.” Said the older professor Kim  
“We’re not professors.” he added on unsurely. Baekhyun looked back at them. “Um, You have me for Transfiguration on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. I’m in your seventh-year class? I’m Byun Baekhyun.”  
He stated feeling even more confused and dizzy.  
“I don’t know what kind of Confusing Draught you’ve taken but we’re both seventh years. Check our robes, Gryffindor.” The younger professor Kim deadpanned. “W-what I don’t understand. You’re my charms teacher and you had me last period. We covered the Protean charm and-” He was cut off.

“Look. We’re not professors. My name is Jongdae and this is my boyfriend Minseok. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before which is kind of weird now I think about it considering we’re also Seventh years. We found you unconscious in the hallway to the courtyard. Oh right-”  
The younger professor Kim, No, Jongdae rummaged in his pockets before triumphantly pulling out a golden object.  
“You were carrying this! I mean I think you must have dropped it when you collapsed. There’s a little crack but it looks okay.”  
He announced before handing it to Baekhyun. Baekhyun gave a small shriek shocking the other two in the room and recoiled from the golden object. Whatever it was that Junmyeon was carrying in his bag it was clearly not good news for him. What kinda messed up portkey was his friend carrying?

Minseok, Baekhyun felt weird calling these professor look-alikes by their first names, looked closely at it. “Isn’t that a time-turner? What are you doing with one of these?” He interrogated suddenly.  
“I don’t know!” Baekhyun cried out. “It fell out of Junmyeon’s bag so I caught it and next thing I know I was being kicked.”  
Minseok’s brows knitted together as he tried to figure out what had just happened. “This is going to sound awful and I hope what happened is not this but I need to know. Baekhyun, What year is it?”  
“Uhhh 2014?” He answered. How could the two of them not know what year it was? But his brain finally decided to wake up and he realised what Minseok meant. He could feel the colour in his face drain. “Please tell me this is 2014 for you. Please, It has to be!” This time it was Jongdae who spoke. “I’m so sorry.” He spoke softly. “This is 2004. Baekhyun, We’ve never seen each other because you’re not from here.”

“No,” Baekhyun whispered. “This can’t be true.” He was really beginning to panic now. He felt his heartbeat quicken and his palms grew uncomfortably sweaty. Wait, did that mean these look-alikes weren’t doppelgangers...  
“Ssh. Breathe.” Minseok said gently.  
“Shouldn’t there be a spell or something on that? You should not be here.” Jongdae interjected before quickly backtracking. “Okay Minseok, that maybe was not the best thing to say but it’s true.”  
Baekhyun gulped in the air. Oh, he knew what had happened. “Finite incantatem. Junmyeon cast Finite incantatem before I caught it. So now I’m stuck ten years in the past. I could die here and no one would know. Oh my god. My family has no idea and I can’t contact them. Fuck.” Baekhyun wailed. “I don’t want this! This shouldn’t happen to me!”

 

Tears started falling out of his eyes until he couldn’t see. His small frame shook with hopelessness. He felt the sofa dip under some extra weight. “Hey hey. It’s going to be okay. We’ll get you back Baekhyun. You will see your family and friends again - I’m sure of it.” Minseok reassured him while hugging him close to his chest.  
“Yeah, Minnie is right,” Jongdae added. “Since it’s quite obvious none of us are going to get any sleep tonight I’m going down to the kitchens to feign insomnia and hopefully con some elves out of some food.”  
“I’m sorry.” Baekhyun choked out feeling guilty at depriving the two of their sleep as Jongdae walked out of a door that wasn’t there before. “W-where am I? I don’t think I’ve been in this room before…”

Minseok picked up on the unsubtle topic change but was kind enough not to mention it and ignored Baekhyun’s sniffs. “This is the Room of Requirement. If you walk past the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy three times whilst thinking of what you need, the Room will appear. When I was carrying you I thought of a private room with a sofa to put you. Whenever you need something just think of it. Not food though, as you know from the Gamp’s Laws, so Jongdae specified he needed a passage to the kitchens. Try thinking of something.”

So Baekhyun thought hard. So hard his forehead creased up making it very hard for Minseok to not laugh at his “focused face”. A big pile of fleecy blankets materialised in the corner of the Room. He retrieved a couple from the pile and spread them over himself and Baekhyun. “Are you cold?” He asked concerned for the poor stranger. “A little,” Baekhyun admitted.

The charming moment was interrupted by one Kim Jongdae kicking the door open holding a tray of lots of food. “I’m not sure house-elves can accurately quantify how much one person would eat at this time of night but hey! I have hot chocolate with marshmallows, apple slices, and porridge with cinnamon. I realised when I was in the kitchen that I didn’t ask what you might want to eat so I’m sorry if you don’t like any of this.”

“No, no. This all looks great.” Baekhyun reassured Jongdae as he sat himself down before rearranging the blanket. “Pink? Really Minseok?”  
“Baekhyun picked it!”  
“I mean I was so surprised because it was such a wondrous colour?”  
Both Jongdae and Minseok were surprised at the tiny giggles that Baekhyun was emitting under the pile of blankets. It was a fatally cute giggle.

They shared the apple slices in relative peace. “The porridge and hot chocolate’s all yours Baekhyun.”  
“Thanks.”  
Jongdae raised an eyebrow at Minseok who was uncharacteristically fidgety. Minseok flushed and settled down. “Baekhyun?” He finally asked  
“Yes?”  
“When you first got here you called us professors Kim. Could you please tell us some basic details about them?”  
Baekhyun paused, his spoon midway to his mouth. “Sure but there isn’t much I know - sorry.”

He thought. How was he supposed to describe the mystery that was the duo of teachers? Baekhyun knew little to nothing about the two. He explained that they had joined the school when he was in 5th year. He explained how they shared the same last name but the general consensus was that they weren’t married or related but some people said they were dating. Baekhyun also shared how weird they acted sometimes and how spaced out they could be. On his first day in both their classes they stuttered when saying his name. “I never get called on in class. I’m not complaining but it’s just a little weird.” He confessed. “Also, whenever I walk past them they just shut up. It’s like they are both super aware of my presence and use that superpower to ignore me.” He told the story of having to stay behind to ask a question in transfiguration and when he walked past the classroom after lunch professor Kim was still sitting there. “Almost as deep in thought as professor Zhang whenever Coach Wu walks in front of him on the stairs!” He joked.  
“Zhang Yixing and Wu Yifan?” Jongdae queried. “I think so. Although everyone calls Coach Wu “Kris” for some reason. I think it’s because of that time when -”  
“Baekhyun!” Minseok called loudly interrupting his story. “Don’t tell us anymore.” He ordered. “You asked though,” Baekhyun stated confused.

“I did.” He agreed. “But I asked because I have a theory. You called us professors Kim when we found you. You were very confused when we said we weren’t. I think we might have lied. Do you think we are the past versions of your professors?”  
Jongdae pauses. “Wait does that mean I pass NEWT charms?”  
Baekhyun ignored that question. “I think you are the past versions of my professors. You look so similar and sound the same.” He admitted sadly. “I don’t know what to do.”

Jongdae rubbed his face suddenly looking weary. “I’m afraid you don’t have much choice.” He said. “If we go by standard theories we have to minimise your impact on this timeline. You shouldn't meet anyone else in case it messes up the future - your timeline.”  
“This sounds awful but you shouldn’t leave this room,” Unfortunately Baekhyun was drinking when Minseok spoke but he carried on speaking while wiping up after Baekhyun’s spit take of hot chocolate. “We already know a little too much. You can’t risk accidentally impacting the timeline. We also can’t really contact the ministry as they would be useless and you would be all over the news and in textbooks in your time period. It might cause a paradox.”

“It’s the Ravenclaw brain. I know you don’t really know us but you are going to have to trust us. I don’t know if it will make it any better but we can come back here whenever we have free time?” Jongdae offered.  
“Please,” Baekhyun whispered, feeling defeated by the information he had just been given.  
“Do you think this will be our origin story?” Minseok asked trying to get a smile out of the sad puppy on the sofa. “CBX!” Jongdae chanted.“CBX?” Baekhyun asked. “Chen-Baek-Xiu” Jongdae answered.

“We’re both half-Chinese so I’m sometimes called Xiumin and he’s Chen. But why the sudden group name, Jongdae?”Jongdae stared at his boyfriend. “Luhan told you about the Room yes? We might not be the only ones to know about the Room. If we exit the Room and ask for a place only for CBX then it allows the Room to appear for us even if we enter at different times.” He explained.  
It was at times like this when Minseok remembered how smart his boyfriend was. He didn’t earn his place in Slytherin by merely being sneaky and manipulative. He had a real thirst for knowledge and success.  
“Good point,” Minseok said feeling a rush of happiness at Jongdae’s little blush.   
“What about the house elves?” Baekhyun piped up. “If they know about this place can you lie and say you study in here and get them to deliver stuff?

Jongdae gasped “That’s a brilliant idea - high five!”   
Baekhyun tentatively high-fived him. He was rewarded with a blinding grin but it didn’t change the fact that it was a bit weird to casually high-five a past version of his charms professor.   
“Everything else can be taken care of by the Room. You’ll have to ask it if you want clothes your size and style. I found out the hard way when I was showering in the Prefect bathroom and was too lazy to fetch my clothes and asked Minseok to. He gave me grape coloured clothes a size too small! I looked awful.” Jongdae explained, in a whiny voice.

“Yeah but at least when you asked me to bring clothes I didn’t tell you to go naked because you looked cuter that way!” Minseok shot back at his boyfriend.   
Baekhyun was starting to get whiplash from the pace of their banter.

“Anyway that’s how you ask the Room for clothes, Baekhyun.” Jongdae said ignoring Minseok’s response. He continued “Ooh! I just had the best idea ever. Pajama party! It’s way too late to go back so let’s all ask the Room for super cute pajamas and have a sleepover - we have potions tomorrow and I’m going to need the sleep if I don’t want to be yelled at by JYP.” 

“JYP?” Baekhyun asked, unsure if it was maybe old slang.  
“Our potions professor, he asked us to call him that because he thought it sounded cool.” Minseok explained. “But good idea Jongdae. You’re covered because Slytherin loyalty and I have blackmail on Nichkhun so he won’t rat me out.” 

Minseok walked over to where some shorts and a tank-top were. “Jongdae? Baekhyun?” Jongdae’s pajamas appeared and Baekhyun saw his own yellow duck print pajamas appear too. 

A screen appeared in the middle of the Room and Minseok disappeared, presumably to get changed. “He’s a bit shy,” Jongdae whispered to Baekhyun. “I can count the number of times I’ve seen him naked on one hand! If you’re ok we can just get changed here or you can use the screen after Minseok’s done.” 

Baekhyun was brought back to changing for flying practice, with awkward glances around the Room at anything but other people. He was never that shy but when he’d observed everyone else he saw that they did it. 

Once they were changed Jongdae pulled him off the sofa. He closed his eyes and was clearly thinking about a place to grab a few hours sleep because a large mattress appeared and with it lots of blankets.

 

He leaped onto the bed and gestured for Baekhyun to do the same. When Minseok emerged he was a little surprised at the size of the mattress. “And I thought my mattress was luxurious!” He remarked.   
Baekhyun was mostly trying not to be too awkward. Sleeping with not one but two of his future professors made him contemplate his life choices.   
“Hey,” Minseok poked him in the back. “It’s OK. This is probably so weird for you and your thoughts are keeping you up. Everything looks better after some sleep. Try to relax a little even if you feel you won’t sleep. In the morning Jongdae and I will go to class but we’ll organise food for you and come into the Room straight after class, okay? Now sleep tight or else the bed bugs will bite!” He finished off.

“Thanks,” Baekhyun said after a pause “Goodnight to you too.”   
“Night!” Jongdae called from his other side.

The Room was dark and Baekhyun tried to keep the shifting around on the mattress to a minimum as to not annoy Jongdae and Minseok. He could hear their breathing slow as he stared up at the ceiling. He could feel his thoughts running away from him at a thousand miles an hour and his heart-rate begin to increase. 

Baekhyun counted his breathing in his head. Breathe in for three, out for five and repeat. He could not get to sleep like this. He tried all his tricks that he used before exams: make up a story, try recite something to keep your mind from worrying and even imagining the most peaceful beach scene.

He was yawning and was so tired and frustrated at not being able to fall asleep. He shifted around a little before returning to his default position of cuddling the duvet. Baekhyun tried the story trick again. He and Junmyeon were mountain climbing when they met a massive dragon and then...

He rolled around a little bit before opening his eyes. Why did the Gryffindor dorm look different? He sat up sleepily rubbing his eyes while the information he received last night flooded through his brain. He flopped back onto the bed. It was too early for this time travelling shit.   
Baekhyun sat up again. He saw a new side table with a little note on it. Taking care to not get tripped up by the blanket, he stood up to read it.

“Morning! We’ve left to go to class but should be back at 3:45. You can ask the Room for anything you need (including a shower) and I’ve asked the house-elves to deliver food at 9, 1:30 and 3:30. We’ll make it back ASAP so we can discuss your situation a little more.  
Have a good day,  
Minseok and Jongdae”

He sighed heavily. He was alone in the past in some magical room he’d only got a brief explanation of. At least they’d left him a note. He thought a bit more about both of them. It was really weird - they looked so similar to their future selves but also painfully younger. Minseok still the baby-face he was known for. Jongdae’s cheekbones looked like they could be used to sharpen knives. They already had fans as professors but Baekhyun could totally imagine popular fanclubs for both of them. Why were all the handsome boys already in relationships or in the past?

He shook his head quickly to try banish the thoughts from his head. He looked around the Room to see if there were any other changes. The note said food would arrive at nine but he had no way of knowing the time. He caught something out of the corner of his eye - a clock. An elaborately carved grandfather clock. Clearly this room didn’t do things by halves. 

8:45. He had fifteen minutes before the house elf would come. He looked down at his duck pajamas. He sighed, how he wished he had his nice jeans and his big comfy jumper. Baekhyun had almost forgotten the purpose of the Room so he got a mini-shock when he turned around to see an expensive looking cupboard full of the very clothes he desired. It was a little unnerving but he took advantage of the Room and got changed. He still had quite a while before breakfast an ornate cupboard appeared.The Room had a sense of style - first the clock now the cupboard? He could really get used to this magical room.

First things first, he had to figure out the limits of the Room. Minseok had already told him that food was out of the question but he didn’t know much more than that. Baekhyun had all day in a magical room - but the question was what did he actually want?

Something to do was the obvious answer. The Room interpreted that wish and gave him a book. He picked it up. “The best spells for pranks” he read aloud, “by Cil. EJ Oaker” Huh. Baekhyun flipped through it. His eye was almost immediately caught by Alarte Ascendare. “A spell that will send the target flying up through the air.” He immediately pictured doing it to one of Junmyeon’s schedules - he never stuck to them anyway! Baekhyun was getting too carried away in his thoughts about all the pranks he could pull. It took a moment before he realised he might not see Junmyeon again. His happiness faltered before he shook his head as if to shake off the thoughts. He would see Junmyeon again - preferably once he’d mastered this spell. He put the book down on the table.

A pile of cushions appeared at his feet. A devious smile took over Baekhyun’s face. This room was pretty chill. “Alarte Ascendare!” He yelled as he made a Z motion with his wand. He was a bit disappointed when nothing much happened. The cushion rose a little before falling back down. “Alarte Ascendare!” He tried feeling much more frustrated this time. Baekhyun was not prepared for the sheer speed of the cushion. It just flew up into the air at a rate of knots. He was left staring at the ceiling. “Wow” He breathed out. He giggled out of shock. 

The way the Room interpreted his wishes was interesting. When he didn’t specify exactly what he wanted the Room would chose the best option for him. He glanced at the clock. He still had quite a bit of time on his hands before the house-elf came. 

I want something to do until breakfast comes he thought. A big white cubicle appeared near him. Baekhyun walked over and found a shower. Wow. He thought to himself. He must really smell for a magical room to do that to him. He could take a hint though, and found some towels to hang over the door. When Baekhyun entered the shower he was surprised at how nice it was.

It was like a downsized version of the Prefect’s bathroom (which was the real reason Baekhyun tried so hard to become a prefect). The tiles were pretty and the water temperature was perfect. Baekhyun sighed happily. Life may be disappointing but this shower wasn’t. 

He reflected on what had happened last night as he showered. He liked Jongdae and Minseok despite knowing them as hard-ass professors. Their relationship was cute too. They both seemed very smart and capable. Baekhyun thought to himself that he was lucky that he had landed with them in the past and not with professor Zhang or professor Lee.   
Zhang would be too excited about being in the past and would try to talk to everyone and professor Lee would just be professor Lee. Loud and demanding people refer to him as “The Great Seungri”.

He giggled at the thought as he stepped out of the shower to find some luxuriously soft towels and a plate of crepes and a small pot of jam with a little spoon. Sitting on the newly conjured cushions at the low table in the softest of towels eating hot crepes Baekhyun felt like a king. Hogwarts made the best crepes and no matter how much Kyungsoo tried, the ravenclaw couldn’t recreate the legendary taste. 

After he finished the plate of food he let out a groan of satisfaction. Everything looked better after a shower and some food. Living in a magic room couldn’t be too torturous. The worst of it, Baekhyun reflected, was that you had a lot of time to think. He didn’t really like that. 

As he got changed back into his clothes he thought about the best way to spend the day. He could try out new spells, read books, listen to music or explore the limits of the Room. 

Oh! Or he could do all of that but in a pillow fortress! Baekhyun could see how awesome his fort was going to be. He’d have the softest of blankets and the sturdiest of pillows. First things first though, he had to get everything he’d need inside the fort so he could just push it in and never have to leave his creation. He wanted something to listen to music on, but what? As he tapped his foot the Room had decided and provided a gramophone. Even 10 years before his normal time it was old but wizards were always behind the time. Baekhyun paused - could he get SNSD on vinyl? 

They debuted in 2007, so three years later than where he was in time. He told the room “I need my daily fix of my girls” 

The room seemed to pause. Baekhyun held his breath praying. Some vinyl record appeared at his feet. “BoA: Valenti” He read outloud. So he couldn’t ask for things after the current time. Huh.  
He put the record on the gramophone. BoA’s voice quickly faded into the background as he planned what to ask the room for next. Books. He wanted the most interesting spell books and the best fiction books available.   
A pile of books appeared on the table. “At least we can apologise by Lee Kiho,” He read as he turned the book around to read the blurb “Sounds good.” He put it back down and looked at some of the spell books. “Wow.” Baekhyun said reading the spell book titles. There was: Have Yourself a Fiesta in a Bottle!, Madcap Magic for Wacky Warlocks, saucy tricks for tricky sorts and, weirdest of all, 12 fail-safe ways to charm wizards? 

Away from the room’s questionable choice in reading material what Baekhyun needed right now was cushions and blankets for his fortress. A pile of cushions appeared beside the exact blankets Baekhyun had imagined. He fought back a shiver, sure it was very convenient but it was also sort of invasive?

He set to work at building the greatest pillow fort in history! When he gathered the materials he noticed a little lantern. That was cool of the room - he hadn’t thought of that.  
He got the soft cushions and set them up in a little circle. Baekhyun dragged the little table over to act as a support for one of the cushions. Hmm. He needed something to raise or support the centre but what? A coat hanger apparently as that’s what he got from the room. He put it in the centre of the circle and surveyed his work happily.

He was ready to start draping the blankets over the wide circle. Baekhyun first put all the books and the lantern inside and moved the gramophone onto the table beside the cushion and moved the needle so the record would play from the start again before retrieving the blankets. Carefully he stood on his tiptoes to get one end over the coat hanger and the other to go over the cushions. He repeated this move until the entire structure was covered. He stood back to admire it - a little wonky but it was a masterpiece in Baekhyun’s eyes. He lifted up one end of a blanket and crawled in. He decided that that was the entrance and threw its end back to create a makeshift doorway.

Surrounded by blankets Baekhyun picked a book and started reading. He had picked the fiction book so he was immediately immersed in a new world. Baekhyun was oblivious to time passing around him - it was a good book. He emerged from it bleary eyed at lunchtime. He knew it was lunchtime as his stomach was rumbling. He lazily stretched his arms, his mind still on the book he had just read, before crawling out of his fortress. Baekhyun screwed his eyes up. The room was bright.

He stood up wincing at the stiffness in his back before looking to see if the house elf had come by yet. A tray was left on the floor. Baekhyun walked over to investigate. It was clear the elves expected two people to be eating. All the food looked great - bagels, smoked salmon, selection of cold meats and cheese and a bowl of crunchy vegetables accompanied by a jug of cordial and glasses. Baekhyun’s nose wrinkled up when he saw the cucumber. Damn it! Would no salad bowl be free from the cucumber?

Baekhyun made himself a little smoked salmon bagel and snacked happily. He devoured the meats and cheese (all the produce tasted amazing at Hogwarts) before turning to the salad. He sighed heavily before picking out all the cucumber he could find. He enjoyed the vegetables after the offending cucumber was removed and drank the cordial happily. 

He sat back, feeling content, after finishing the big tray of food. He still had a few hours until Minseok and Jongdae came back.What could he do in that time? Baekhyun didn’t particularly want to start another book so soon after just finishing one. A thought struck him all of a sudden. A jigsaw puzzle!

No sooner than he had thought of the jigsaw the Room had spat out a puzzle box beside him. The picture was muggle Tokyo’s skyline. He opened the lid, poured the pieces out and set to work turning them all over to face him. When he came across a corner he put it aside and came back to them after turning all the pieces over. Baekhyun put the box lid beside him so he could refer to the image as many times as he needed.

He sifted through the pieces until he found a connecting piece and then repeated. Time sped by quicker than he expected. He had finished the top part of the tower before he happened to glance up at the clock. Merlin’s beard! He had less than 5 minutes until the house elf came. He would have to hide because who knows what would happen if the house elf saw him. He’d get reported to the headmaster and then the headmaster would either try to imprison him for not being a student, as far as he knew, or the headmaster would question him and find out that he was from the future.He could mess up his chances of ever getting back to the future! He gulped in air in an attempt to calm down. He dived back into his blanket fortress and shut his eyes as tightly as possible. 

Baekhyun clutched onto the edges of the blanket until his hands went white. He tried to regulate his breathing as he listened out for the house elf. An eternity seemed to pass before he heard the soft noise of elf apparation, a soft thump and then the apparation again. 

He was safe. For now at least. He slowly and softly crawled out of his blanket castle making sure to be as quiet as possible. He poked his head out and surveyed the room before exiting the mass of blankets. The lunch tray had been removed and in its place was a spread fit for a king. 

There was a little cake stand with all the best treats on it - hiker’s crunch, french fancies, brownies, mini cupcakes and mini meranguines. Baekhyun could feel his mouth start to water as he took in the sight before him. Tiny sandwiches had been laid out on plates and the elves seemed to get his feedback - no cucumber! There was a tall jug of what looked like lemonade with 2 glasses beside it.

Minseok and Jongdae must ask the elves for food quite regularly if they always provided enough for the two of them to eat. Cute, picnic dates must be a regular thing for them then. Baekhyun felt a little jealous - he’d always wanted a picnic date but it had never worked out with his previous boyfriends. Baekhyun sat cross-legged nibbling on his sandwich as he thought about his day. His heart rate had gone back to normal after his house elf scare and he was calm enough to think about what he would be doing when Minseok and Jongdae came. 

The two of them would arrive in 15 minutes. He looked over at the food and sighed. He’d definitely be asking for their help to finish it all. They could help him finish his jigsaw? Or would they all have to sit around and discuss the whole “I’m from your future” thing?

More importantly why was he overthinking this? Oy vey, his mind needed to stop. He left the food alone so he could share it with Minseok and Jongdae when they arrived. He looked back over his jigsaw. Baekhyun decided to continue it - he may be stuck in the past but he doesn’t have eternity to finish a 5000 piece puzzle.

He was engrossed in his work and too busy staring at the pieces to notice that Minseok and Jongdae were back. Minseok made to call out that they were there before Jongdae stuck his hand over his boyfriend’s mouth. He put his finger over his lips and as softly as possible crept towards Baekhyun. Minseok was still at the entrance of the room so he had the perfect view of his boyfriend attempting to scare their new friend. 

“Yah! Baekhyun!!!” Jongdae yelled from right behind Baekhyun. Baekhyun screeched and jumped away from the noise. Minseok facepalmed as he saw Baekhyun attempt to crawl backwards from his boyfriend. 

He spoke up “Jongdae! I’m so sorry for that Baekhyun. You can’t take him anywhere.” Baekhyun looked up, lingering fear still evident in his eyes, and nodded cautiously. Jongdae started to laugh and Baekhyun joined in.

“Seriously guys?” Minseok had to ask after a while. He was pretty sure he could see tear tracks down Jongdae’s face. “Oh!” Baekhyun interjected. “I forgot but there’s some food for you guys.”

He stood up and retrieved the cake stand. “I can’t eat it all so please enjoy!” Jongdae and Minseok shared a look before sitting down to eat some cake. “Mm. This is amazing!” Jongdae groaned through a mouth full of food. “I forget how good the elves are at afternoon tea. I should stop napping through it.” Minseok admitted. Baekhyun made a noise of agreement through his brownie. 

“So what have you guys been doing today?” He asked. Jongdae thought about all that had happened since he and Minseok had left a sleeping Baekhyun to go to breakfast then class. “Potions with JYP, Charms with Prof Kim,” He reeled off. “That’s Kim Heechul.” Minseok interjected. “- Lunch, then astronomy supported study with Prof. Ahn.” Jongdae continued.

“How many subjects are you taking?” Baekhyun asked.   
“Five! But Minnie’s taking six - the weirdo.” 

Baekhyun felt sorry for Minseok. Six NEWTs would be so much work. “I also took five! I took: Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy, Divination and History of magic.” 

Jongdae gasped “We took everything the same except I took potions instead of divination.” They high-fived.   
“I took Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, History of magic, Potions, and Defence against the dark arts.” Minseok added.

 

“Did anything funny happen in class? Any good pranks?” Baekhyun was thirsty for news and also prank ideas he could steal to use with Chanyeol.

Jongdae thought. It was just an ordinary day, Prof Kim was being his usual self, He got teased by his classmates for looking at the clock so often when he wanted to know when he could leave to meet Baekhyun, Prof Ahn still thought he could pass Astronomy..

“Oh yeah! Right so my professor for Astronomy looks weirdly like Minseok. They’re not related but their faces are exact copies. When he entered first year there were so many rumours about them being related.” Jongdae told Baekhyun.

“We’re not. We do look a little alike though.” Minseok added.

“The best thing is my charms professor has this weird crush on her so Minseok was always one of his favourites so that if they were related Minseok could only say nice things!”

“I have never gotten below an E.” Minseok admitted.

Baekhyun laughed. “We don’t have any cool professor drama like that. The most we got is professor Lee complaining about his debt and giving detention to anyone who mentions his divorce.”

“He’s still paying that off 10 years in the future!” Jongdae and Minseok yelled in unison.

“Uh huh!” Baekhyun nodded whilst smiling widely.

It felt so natural to banter with Jongdae and Minseok. It was like they just all clicked. They continued to talk late into the night before Jongdae and Minseok had to leave. They couldn’t sleep over too often without it being suspicious.

Baekhyun was left in the room basking in the happiness he got from their talk. It felt much nicer to get into bed that night than the one previous. Maybe they hadn’t found a way to send him back but they had worked out how to find out more. 

They were going to check the library and ask a few vague questions of the teachers and Baekhyun was going to raid the room’s vast catalogue of books. 

He was feeling so much more hopeful. They had a plan and his days looked like they were going to be a lot more fun.

Baekhyun fell asleep that night happy and content. The next few days passed the same way. Chill in the room doing whatever until they came then they would chat, work, and just hang out.

Minseok and Jongdae changed the times so they could eat together. So they now went down to the kitchens to bring up the tea themselves. They nearly got busted once but luckily the teacher didn't see them duck back into the kitchen before making a run for it.

It would be inconvenient if they got detention now as the three of them were really starting to get along. One time Minseok had brought along his chess board and thoroughly beat the other two into the ground. Another time Jongdae helped explain the Protean charm theory to him as well as the wand movements.

On days when they didn’t have any classes they would come round wearing their casual clothes. The first time they did so Baekhyun had to bite the inside of his cheeks to refrain from laughing. Whilst they both avoided the weirder side of 2004 fashion it was still kinda funny to see them dress like old TVXQ and SG Wannabe. One time Jongdae walked in with the most tragic cardigan and Baekhyun didn’t even try to hold in the giggles. He had tears in his eyes as Jongdae protested about how great his cardigan was and how comfy it was, being made of Alpaca yarn.   
His stomach only hurt more when Minseok said “I quite like it. When I’m on holiday Alpaca - it too!”  
Baekhyun had just managed to calm down when Minseok spoke again.   
“That was fun wool it lasted…”   
He re-collapsed on the floor, Jongdae wasn’t in much of a better state. The awful cardigan became an inside joke. Whenever someone was complaining (Jongdae) someone else could say. “Hey, at least you’re not wearing the cardigan!”

They were just both amazing to be around.   
Hanging around with them felt so natural and right. They shared a lot of the same hobbies and likes and their personalities didn't clash. If he suddenly missed his parents or his friends Minseok and Jongdae would notice and comfort him. He was starting to be able to do the same. To notice when Minseok felt overwhelmed by the volume of noise or mess, or to notice when Jongdae complaints were not made in jest. It was like he was becoming hyper aware of them.

Baekhyun was beginning to get a little confused. The start of his friends ships with Junmyeon or Kyungsoo didn't feel like this. They didn't become as close so quickly.  
The last time he was this hyper aware of someone was when he had just started to talk to Sehun - Oh. 

But either way their presence made it easier for Baekhyun to not go stir crazy due to lack of company. 

As soon as class finished or whenever they had free periods Minseok and Jongdae would run along to the room. They genuinely liked Baekhyun and Madam Pince was super impressed at their library attendance. For once they were bringing books back on time and taking new ones out. Their eagerness didn’t go unnoticed. Rumours about their sex life began to flourish like never before.

 

They just shrugged off the gossip. They were the real winners, getting to hang out with Baekhyun. Minseok in particular was happy. Being a quieter and a little more reserved than his boyfriend he didn’t often hang out with people (other than Jongdae) who could be described as ‘beagles’. Baekhyun brought more laughter and smiles and transformed his stressful seventh year into something fun.

However Baekhyun was also the cause of Minseok lugging around heavy tomes about the theories of time travel, how to reverse spells, and the makeup of all spells everyday. He was getting impressive marks in theory in all his subjects but he didn't feel like he was getting any further with Baekhyun’s problem. 

He was quickly packing up after defence against dark arts hoping to catch the professor before they managed to escape the class. “Ooh, off to see a certain Jongdae, are we?” One of his classmates teased as he rushed by. 

“professor!” He yelled hoping to catch Mr. Kim's attention. “Yes? Ah! Minseok. What is it?”  
It was time for the killer question. “I was wondering about time turners. I was studying when they came up and no teacher has mentioned them in any detail, only in passing. Are we going to need to know about them for the exam?” Not only would he be able to get more information, he could find out what subject they feel under. professor Kim Jongkook wouldn't suspect anything of one of his star pupils.

“Hmm. They shouldn't be in our exam and I doubt they'll be covered in anything you'll be doing this year. Charms might know a little more but you certainly don't need to know it for defence. Why? Are you just curious or was it some old fashioned textbook?”

Bingo, Minseok thought, bingo. “Curiosity mostly. They were mentioned in a book of mine and I didn't know if I needed to learn about them. What old textbooks had information about them?”

His teacher sighed. “A lot of old NEWT level defence textbooks and charms textbooks have basic information about them. That was before the new exam system. I don't know what the ministry was thinking. When I go to marking meeting all the teachers I meet say -”

Minseok decided to cut him off before he had to listen to another rant about educational reforms. “Thanks professor!”  
And then he ran because he really didn't want to listen to his professor’s tirade against the school board again.

To the library or to charms, that was the question. He opted to go to charms knowing that even if professor Heechul couldn’t answer his question he’d at least have some of the older textbooks. 

He made his way to charms as fast as he could hoping to catch him before he left to go woo professor Ahn. Minseok almost literally ran into him.   
“Minseok! What’s the rush about? Could you just not resist my charms?”   
“I.. Wanted to ask…” Minseok managed to force out in between gulps of air.  
“Wow you must really want to ask. Wait for a second then ask me.”  
Minseok stood gathering his energy. “I wanted to ask about time turners and if you have any old textbooks that mention them?”  
Heechul tapped his foot as he thought. “Hmm. You already know that time turners are a way for a wizard to go into the past. However ministry charms mean they can only go back 5 hours. There are thousands of law restricting their use so if you have one it is better not to let me know so I don’t have to talk to the ministry, or worse, pupil support.”   
Minseok forced out a laugh. “No of course I don’t have one! I was asking professor Kim about them and he said you might have some of the old textbooks that talk about them.”  
“Which professor Kim?” Heechul deadpanned. “There are four including me.”  
“Defence professor Kim Jongkook.”  
“That explains it. Time turners are mentioned a little in his course but they are mentioned more in mine. The summary is that time is not to be messed with and that ministry laws are all powerful and for your own good. I have the old textbooks if you want them?”

Minseok was internally partying. “Yes please. But what would happen if someone cast a finite spell on the time turner and spun it?” He asked as he followed Heechul into the classroom as his professor was rooting about the cupboards.  
“They’d travel back in time. However there hasn’t been many studies of that nature. What most researchers are willing to let slip (they’re all department of mysteries employees) is that, due to the paradoxical nature of time travel, no matter what they did the future would stay the same. Most of the theories focus on time itself, not the subject. There was actually a very groundbreaking paper written by a Russian wizard - Novikov. If you want to read the paper then I have a contact who can translate it for you.”

Minseok’s head had started hurting about five minutes ago but he smiled anyway. “That would be brilliant professor! And who do you know in Russia?” The amount of people Kim Heechul knew was insane.   
“Kim Youngchul.” His professor answered nonchalantly.   
“Kim Youngchul? You know the pioneer of modern invisibility and camouflage spells?” Minseok asked incredulously. Heechul shrugged faux-modestly.  
“I did tell you all in class that I had connections, didn’t I? Now here are the textbooks. Go and enjoy your free time. You’ll miss it when you join the workforce.”  
Minseok said his thanks once more before starting to run again to the room. If he kept this up he’d have killer thigh muscles.

He quickly paced the corridor and burst into the room as soon as the door appeared. He barely had time to ask for a beanbag before he collapsed. He could hear footsteps approach him. He opened his eyes to see a worried Baekhyun.   
“Are you OK?”  
Minseok groaned. “I’ll be fine - eventually.”   
He pointed to the bag he dropped as soon as he got in. “For you I endured rants about educational reforms and Kim Heechul. I got information about time-turners.”  
Baekhyun smiled widely making Minseok’s heart skip a beat (or maybe it was the exercise that did that). 

He stretched before forcing himself off of the beanbag to show Baekhyun the books and relay the information he’d gained from Heechul. “These textbooks have some information about time turners. It’ll probably be the same as what we’ve learnt from all the other books but it’s worth a try. I asked professor Heechul about time travel and he explained that no matter what happens in the past the future stays constant. So there is no chance that you’ll mess up your future. He also offered to get a friend of his to translate a paper on the theory of time travel. The reason it’s not turned up yet was that it was in Russian.”  
Minseok was nearly knocked over by the force of Baekhyun’s hug. “Thank you so much!” Baekhyun said. “Seriously, thank you for doing this for me.”  
Minseok could feel the blush coming on. “No problem, really.”   
His cheeks were burning. “Should we maybe tackle one each?”   
He suggested quickly. Baekhyun let go and picked the 1997 edition. Minseok took the 1993 edition leaving two for later. 

The two of them sat down skimming until they reached the section on time-turners. Minseok let out a sigh. The paragraph looked very small. He read through it carefully trying not to miss a word. It was the same as all the books he’d checked. A basic introduction, definition and - what was that? He read over the last few sentences again. The textbook described time as a balanced force. It refenced the balance of nature and the way. Minseok reached in his bag for his notebook and quill. He quickly wrote down the exact words. 

He puzzled over the words for a few minutes before deciding to ask Baekhyun. Baekhyun looked over. “I think I understand what this is referring to. The balance of nature is the idea that nature will automatically balance everything. I’m not sure about the mention of the way but I’m assuming it’s to do with taoism. Tao being the flow of the universe.”  
“Ahh.” Minseok nodded along with Baekhyun’s explanation. “So it would seem that the textbook says that time is a force that will balance itself. At some point time will correct itself and find a way to send you back?”   
Baekhyun shook his head a little. “Not quite like that. If I find a way back it’s then that is time correcting itself. Time probably won’t directly change what’s happening but that’s probably why there’s a limit on time-turners. Because they alter the flow of the universe. Me being here has technically not changed anything but something is still out of place, me, the universe should endeavour to fix that and get me back as soon as possible. But it will not happen by direct intervention.”  
“Wow.” Minseok breathed out. “You are really smart. Have you ever considered working for the department of mysteries?”  
Baekhyun giggled bashfully. “I’m not that smart. I just understand time. It’s like how you automatically just get transfiguration.”  
“Still,” Minseok insisted “Not only do you have a superior understanding of the force of time but we now know that you’re going to get back sometime or another!”

He pulled Baekhyun up. “This is a cause for celebration!” 

Minseok danced around the room wildly. If he was on X-Man he would be winning the ugly dance contest right now. Baekhyun was laughing so hard he was bent double. Of course the moment he was doing something silly Jongdae walked in. His boyfriend took one look at Minseok’s prancing before joining Baekhyun in his laughter.  
“What are you doing?” Jongdae forced out between laughs.  
“Baekhyun is going to get back! And him being here isn’t going to change the future. This is a time for a happy dance!” He said whilst dancing around the room.   
“This is an appropriate time for a happy dance,” Jongdae agrees whilst starting to dance too.

The two of them dance around the room like mad reducing Baekhyun to tears. They gradually calm down and Minseok and Baekhyun explain their conclusions to Jongdae.  
“That’s great news! There are more textbooks as well? Let’s finish them all tonight and see where we’re at. By the end of this we could be world experts on the magical theories of time.”   
So they all sat down and pulled out the textbooks again but with considerably more vigour. 

They settled into an easy silence. It was broken only by little exclamations or the scratching of a quill. None of the other textbooks yielded anything substantial but the trio weren’t daunted. They had one breakthrough, another would surely happen!

They agreed that despite the recent revelations it would still be best if Baekhyun was kept hidden because in his words “Put it this way guys. Time may balance itself out but I don’t want to be the idiot that complicates things.” The read pile of textbooks were being piled up and their notebooks were becoming more and more full. It was Jongdae who noticed the time first.   
“Oh bloody hell. Look at the time! We’ve got no time to get back tonight.”  
Minseok let out a little sigh when he realised what Jongdae said was true. “Well as long as we don’t make too much of a habit of it we could probably just sleep over here. That’s if you don’t mind Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun tilted his head. “Why are you even asking! It’ll be more fun if we have a sleepover.”  
Both Minseok and Jongdae laughed at his eagerness. “Ok,ok. Let’s put these textbooks away. I might be able to get away with a lot in charms but I’ve had to hear about the replacement costs for textbooks so I’m not risking it!” Minseok said whilst starting to re-sort and put away the textbooks. 

They then started to rearrange the contents of the room. Baekhyun watched as the others mirrored their actions the first time they had a sleepover. It was crazy to think at how close they were now. This time he could enjoy watching Jongdae’s furrowed brow as he concentrated on a big comfy bed, Minseok’s cute bashfulness, and their cute expressions whenever he made jokes that they didn’t get.

Those expressions were a gift to mankind. Baekhyun will never forget the first time he threw something away while yelling “Yeet!”. It was the funniest thing ever. They looked so concerned and asked if he’d accidently confounded himself, come on he wasn’t that clumsy, and got even more worried as he couldn’t stop laughing. 

But by far the best thing was when he joked about the world ending in 2012. Minseok was less worried about paradoxes this time but both him and Jongdae were very freaked out. Baekhyun let them believe it for a day before he felt too bad and confessed. He got tackled to the ground and tickled for that stunt.

He just felt so happy when he got to experience these little moments. Plus sleepovers were great because they had adorable PJs. Also this time he wasn’t awkwardly panicking about his future whilst in bed with two people he’d just met. This sleepover was already looking to be an improvement on the last one!

They all got ready together and there was no room for awkwardness when they were too busy fighting for monopoly of the mirror or pre-emptively trying to steal all the duvets. It was when they were all settled in,calm and drifting off, that Baekhyun had his terrifying thought, that he really wouldn’t mind staying here for a long period if he could stay with Jongdae and Minseok. 

 

This time he was awake at the ungodly hour Minseok and Jongdae needed to leave at. Baekhyun sat up rubbing his eyes.  
“Aww, it’s ok. Go back to sleep Baek. We’ll be back soon.”   
A voice, Jongdae, said from above him and he felt a hand rub his head affectionately. “Yeah, Go back to sleep.” Minseok added.  
Baekhyun needed no further encouragement to flop back down and wrap himself in duvet. He smiled as he fell asleep. “Baek”. He’d never been given a nickname before. It felt nice.

Jongdae poked his head out of the room and checked both ways. “We’re clear!” He called to Minseok. He pulled up his hands imitating the spy movies Minseok had made him watch. Jongdae beckoned Minseok whilst keeping his back to the wall. Minseok sighed before joining Jongdae in the fun. It was a shame that Baekhyun couldn’t come and play with them like that.

They kept up the spy imitations until they reached the main corridor. Just before then Jongdae kissed Minseok on the cheek before he started to head off to transfiguration with Hufflepuff whilst Minseok went to charms. He sauntered up to class, greeting people and chatting a little before going into the classroom. 

Luckily he managed to get there before professor Park. She was one of the stricter teachers so most of her class turned up on time. Except on Tuesdays. Jongdae was always late on Tuesdays and couldn’t figure out why. Either way her class was almost full before the bell rung which meant he could catch up with Tao.

Tao was there and as eager as always to tell Jongdae all the Hufflepuff gossip. Despite the old stereotype the two got on very well. They had a sort of deal to exchange gossip from their respective houses. This meant Jongdae was always up to date with any news. “Hiya Tao. What’s up?”   
The Hufflepuff looked up from the letter he was writing. “Oh hey Jongdae! Nothing much. Although you’ll never guess what I heard about gryffindor!”  
Jongdae sat down and indulged Tao. “No, Tell me!”  
Tao leant in as if to impart the location of El Dorado. “Nothing much, Only that Sulli is considering leaving quidditch to join the Witches’ union with Hyuna! Rumour has it that Minho is promising all he has because if she goes so does their winning streak.”  
“Wow.” Jongdae breathed out. “I still have no clue how you balance classes, quidditch and gossip.”  
Tao’s bright grin meant Jongdae could predict the answer. “Because I’m Hufflepuff’s Kung-Fu panda!” They answered in unison.

They shared a laugh before stopping when professor Park walked in. It was advisable to pay attention in her class. She started class and before Jongdae knew it instead of the theories and equations behind conjuring he was thinking about what to do with Baekhyun once class was over. Minseok would be in defense so they had quite a while.  
Maybe a pillow fight, or.... Jenga would be good. He felt Tao poke him in the arm suddenly and bit back a scream. “What?” He hissed.  
“Stop thinking about Minseok and concentrate. Prof Kahi’s on the warpath.”  
“Huang Zitao?” She called out.  
“Sorry professor!” Tao yelled back.

Jongdae had no clue as to how Tao found out professor Park’s nickname and why he thought Jongdae was being distracted by Minseok. Tao was usually correct whenever he told him off for being distracted. He claimed it was due to “your soppy face, honestly. It looks like you've been fed opium - your love is disgusting!”

Tao was wrong but unfortunately Jongdae couldn't mock him for it this time. It was inconvenient having to keep Baekhyun a secret. All he wanted to do sometimes was discuss how adorable and funny he was. Or to tell other people about the funny thing Baekhyun said. “You’re doing the face again. Seriously, wipe that ‘I’m so in love’ look off your face. We have an exam!” Tao whisper-yelled once professor Park had turned her back.It  
Jongdae just stuck his tongue out in lieu of a response.

There was a question annoying him from the back of his mind. He tried to avoid it but it was persistent;  
“Was I thinking about Baekhyun the same way I think about Minseok?”

This resulted in him actively trying to concentrate on the lesson but the more he tried the less he concentrated. Jongdae didn’t think he picked up a single word of anything professor Park said. He hated being caught up in his head like this.

As soon as she said the magical words of “As soon as you finish packing up you can leave” Jongdae bolted. Or as Baekhyun would say he “yeeted” out of the room.  
With all this running to the room of requirement he was becoming increasingly good as weaving in and out of people in the busy corridors as well as increasing his general fitness. 

Quite early on he and Minseok had figured out that you didn't need to pace three times. You could just take a step and turn around. It did mean they looked like spinning tops but it was very effective. Jongdae stumbled into the appearing door. He could feel his cheeks hurt from the smile that took over his face. Baekhyun was sitting with his back to the door singing some weird song about being a genie and working on something.

“Honey, I’m home~” Jongdae called out teasingly. Baekhyun turned to face him and played along. “Already? I haven’t even started on the rice!” Jongdae just laughed. “What’s that you’re working on?” He asked spotting a little circle in Baekhyun’s pretty hands.  
“Friendship bracelets!” Baekhyun beamed happily. “I’ve been making these for all of us. I can teach you if you want?”  
Jongdae was being hypnotised by that bright grin. He could only nod dumbly.   
Baekhyun cheered and reached behind him and handed Jongdae a little cardboard circle like his.

“Thanks, You’re really good at predicting where the room will put things. I still can’t guess where things will appear” Jongdae confessed. Baekhyun shrugged. “But you haven’t been living here for - holy crap it’s been about a month and a half!”  
Jongdae tried to calculate the time in his head. “You’re right. Wow, I guess time flies when you’re having fun?”  
Baekhyun snorted at the cliche saying before returning to the most important topic - that of the friendship bracelets.  
“Now think of the colours you want. Max 7, minimum 2. You can get the exact colours you want here.”  
Jongdae handed the collection of differing shades of green and silver to Baekhyun. “You’re really ambivalent about being in slytherin aren’t you?” He asked sarcastically.  
Jongdae agreed. “Yes, I really don’t care about the awesome view of underneath the lake we get and I couldn’t mind less about the ornate decor and the constantly burning fireplace. Slytherin is just so-so.” He managed to keep the same snobbish tone nearly the entire way through but cracked at the end.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes but couldn’t suppress his smile. “Ok then Mr. Ambivalent, what you are going to want to do is tie the thread like this and put it through the hole in the circle.” He explained and mimed the action.  
Jongdae watched carefully and did as he was told. “Well done! Now all you have to do is move the thread 3 before the gap to the gap. Then repeat.”  
Jongdae tried to follow this step but Baekhyun had moved too fast.  
“No, not like that. Pass it over. See, you do it like this. Then rotate the circle and move that thread.” Baekhyun said patiently as he demonstrated.

“Are you not going to do a Blue Peter and pull out one you’ve made earlier?” Jongdae asked.  
“Well actually,” Baekhyun smirked as he picked something up “Here is one I made earlier! It’s the one I made for you.”  
Jongdae immediately held out his wrist to allow Baekhyun to tie it on. He brought it up close to his face to properly admire. “If you ever want to get that far with yours then you should carry on.” He advised.  
So they sat singing songs and making friendship bracelets. It may have been the most stereotypical first year hufflepuff thing to do but Jongdae was enjoying himself. When Minseok came in they showed him how to make one too.  
“Thanks for the bracelet Baek. It looks so pretty! I love the colours too.” Minseok praised Baekhyun until he was blushing.

They all worked on their bracelets together. Baekhyun also started a song theme game. The amount of TVXQ knowledge Minseok had was insane. They kept at it for a while before Baekhyun announced that “The theme is love! I’ll start off.” He began powerfully “Listen boy, my first love story.”   
There was no chance he’d mess up the timeline according to theories and SNSD were worth breaking the laws of physics for. Jongdae and Minseok just enjoyed listening to him getting so into the song. Minseok went next and went with perfect man and from there on it was just all three of them singing along.

There was a moment where Jongdae thought “I am truly happy right now.” He looked around at Minseok and Baekhyun singing and having fun and tried to commit the scene to memory. It was nice to collect memories such as this. Not even as patronus fodder but as something to keep and remember whenever he didn’t feel happy.

They bantered naturally and ate together, an event which was becoming increasingly common. Minseok had laughed until his stomach hurt. When it was time for them to go back to their dorms they waved goodbye to Baekhyun and set off together. They briefly kissed before separating themselves.

Recently the air between him and Jongdae was different. He could tell that Jongdae was holding something back from him, but them again Minseok was keeping something from Jongdae. 

It had taken him about a week to come to terms with it. He’d been staying up late thinking or trying to not think about it. Minseok liked Baekhyun.

Minseok liked the way Baekhyun smiled, liked the way his face wrinkled up when he didn’t like something, the way he hid his face when embarrassed and most of all he loved the easy skinship between them.

It was weird. Minseok still loved Jongdae and wanted to be his boyfriend. His heartbeat still increased whenever Jongdae would hug or kiss him. Jongdae still took his breath away and Jongdae still made him laugh and feel free and happy. So why was the air between them different? Minseok felt awful. He was in a relationship with Jongdae and whilst Baekhyun had mentioned being single he was sure someone had their eyes on him. Who couldn’t? 

That was weirdly what gave him hope. Minseok may be quiet but it didn’t mean he was unsure or anxious around people. He knew how they behaved and understood them. He saw how Jongdae looked at Baekhyun. If Jongdae was the sun, so bright and warm, and he the moon, quieter but reassuring, then Baekhyun was the Earth, full of life and always interesting. It might be undeniable that Minseok had feelings for Baekhyun but he knew Jongdae. He knew the signs of attraction and whilst they were subtle he could tell there was something there. But he had no clue how to broach the subject. He just couldn’t casually say: “I’ve been crushing on Baekhyun and think you have too. Wanna ask him out together?”

No. He’d have to find a private place and gently broach the subject. Even if Jongdae didn’t feel the same way it wasn’t good to keep secrets of this magnitude. If he could corner Jongdae before breakfast and agree to talk during their free period first thing that would be good. 

He got into the ravenclaw tower after answering the riddle. After 7 years of this he had the knack for answering them. He made his way up to his room for another night of uneasy sleep.

Minseok thought he’d never gotten ready as quickly as this before. He fled downstairs hoping to catch sight of Jongdae. He devoured his breakfast but looked up after every bite. “Minseok the Meerkat!” Changmin teased from beside him.  
Minseok could only nervously laugh. Finally he saw Jongdae come down. He looked so adorable with his oversized robes rubbing his eyes. It made Minseok want to spirit him away to cuddle forever.

He made his way over the Slytherin tables greeting people as he went. Luckily all the Slytherins were pretty cool with his near constant presence. Some of the newer, less observant ones were shocked when they finally realised he was a Ravenclaw. It was almost a game to see how long it would take them. Record was three years.

He slid onto the bench beside Jongdae. “Morning” Jongdae greeted through a mouth of potato scone. “Morning. Was wondering if we could maybe talk during our free period? In private I mean.” Without Baekhyun was the subtext.  
Jongdae looked a little perplexed before agreeing and focusing back on the potato scone. “Where do you want to talk?” He asked.  
“Can you maybe finish your mouthful before asking? I was thinking the library - most people have class and no one goes in during their free periods.”  
Jongdae nodded in agreement. “But Minnie, I can only get these here! They don’t sell them over the border. Do you know they’re also known as ‘Tattie Scones’?”  
Minseok sighed. “Yes I knew that Jongdae, You tell me at least once a week. I’m going to finish the last of my breakfast and I’ll meet you in the history section?”  
“Sounds good to me!” Jongdae agreed.   
Minseok left before he could watch Jongdae drown more innocent potato scones in ketchup.

He drank the last of his pumpkin juice and eat the last of the warm bacon before heading up. It was as he predicted - empty. Even Madam Pince was nowhere to be seen. Minseok sat down facing the books on wizards of the Italian renaissance and waited. He idly flipped through some books skimming stories on Urashima Taro and Honi Ha M’agel. He was reading about Burnt Norton when Jongdae arrived.

Minseok put the book down and waited for Jongdae to sit down. “Hey” He started feeling really awkward. “Hey to you too.” Jongdae responded probably feeling as awkward as Minseok. He sighed before realising he had to be clear about the type of discussion that was about to happen. “Jongdae, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this for a while. Umm… It’s a pretty serious conversation and I just want to make sure this is an ok time for this?” He trailed off.  
Jongdae looked serious as he indicated this was an ok time for him. There was no way to do this other than be perfectly honest. So that was what Minseok did.  
“I love you so much Jongdae. My days are brightened by your smile and you give me strength in the most boring of classes. But for a few weeks I’ve been plagued by something.”  
Minseok took in a deep breath and went to continue. He could feel Jongdae rubbing his arm to reassure him. It only made him feel more nervous but he pushed on.

“Ever since Baekhyun came I… No, What I mean is-” He looked up and thought very carefully about his next words. “I found out my heart was large enough to love two. I didn’t know what to do so I’m telling you now. I’m sorry.”

Jongdae gently moved Minseok’s face so he could look Minseok in the eyes. “I won’t lie and say this was a little out of the blue Minseok,”   
Minseok closed his eyes as if to save himself from any final blow. Jongdae was now caressing his cheeks. “But Minseok, I know you. I knew that Baekhyun brought out sides of you that I could never. It hurt a little at first because unlike you, I’m slow. It was only recently that, I too, realised that my heart is large enough for two. Whatever happens know that I love you too.”

It was like gravity had suddenly stopped working. Minseok felt so light. His shameful secret was no longer weighing him down. His stomach had stopped churning - for now. “So what now?” He asked after a pause.  
Jongdae appeared deep in thought. “No clue.” He said simply after a while. “I know you have a crush om Baekhyun and I know I also have a crush on Baekhyun. Neither of us know how Baekhyun feels?” The last statement was more of a question so Minseok treated it as such.

“Let’s think of this as logically as we can. Neither of us know Baekhyun as well as we know each other.” Minseok started.  
“Obviously!” Jongdae retorted. Minseok snorted at that and the tension was broken a little.  
“He clearly likes us as friends. Sometimes he does things that could hint as liking us but it’s hard to tell. He blushes a lot when we cuddle and made us bracelets. That was super sweet of him.”  
Jongdae unfortunatly countered his original analysis. “Minseok they were friendship bracelets. That’s not number 1 on ways to show your undying love. But he finds us visually appealing and laughs at your awful jokes. He doesn’t treat us differently which is always nice. Look, you had the confidence to broach this subject with me so why don’t we do the same with him?”  
He continued before Minseok could refute his point. “He has shared some pretty personal stuff with us Minseok. He told us about his worries for the future and even told us about his nightmares. Would you talk about faceless old women haunting your dreams or having weird dreams about drowning in an hourglass to people you didn’t trust or like? It’s best for us to bite the bullet and find out as soon as we can.”

Minseok stared at Jongdae. His boyfriend was so smart but also so brave to suggest that as their course of action. “Okay, Okay. We can do this. When? Should we do it today or…” He wondered out loud. Jongdae shook his head. “We don’t need to micromanage. I agree sooner is better but we have to work out how we should arrive at the subject and what to say so that no matter the outcome everything is still cool between all of us.”

So that was what they did. The discussed and debated the best way for the two of them to spill their feelings. By the end of it Minseok was feeling cheered up. No matter what happened they had a plan and Baekhyun did not seem like the kind of person to alienate himself from them. They agreed to do it a 2 or 3 days later when they were sharing snacks so not to make it too formal or tense.

The wait was to ensure that they had time to talk it out properly. To let them speak honestly about everything they had bottled up. Minseok talked about how happy he felt when he saw Jongdae and Baekhyun being loud as he knew he could never be that bubbly. Jongdae talked about how warm he felt inside whenever he watched Minseok and Baekhyun discuss the tricks behind spells or when they just shut up and cuddled. After their confessions hanging out with Baekhyun felt different. Not bad just… different. He probably felt a little bit nervous with the amount of attention they paid to him. When he was off playing with Jongdae and planning pranks Minseok was watching, only giving his book a customary glance once in awhile. When Baekhyun and Minseok were discussing various idol groups and mimicking them Jongdae’s homework would be left unfinished as he watched them keenly. 

Today was now D-Day. They would confess at the beaches, they would confess on land, fields and streets. If Minseok and Jongdae didn’t back out at the last minute, that is. They spent the rest of the day fidgety and a little unsure. They had only discussed their feelings this morning, wasn’t this a little too fast? This time Minseok was the one to reassure Jongdae. “Whether we do it today or tomorrow, we will feel the same. We have no idea what the future, or past, holds. Let’s seize the moment and make the best of it. Maybe that means we decide not to confess but people regret what they don’t do. I don’t want Baekhyun to be a ‘what if’.”  
Jongdae stared at Minseok. It was an uncharacteristically long time for Minseok to spend talking about his feelings. He usually tried to put on a strong face and ignored them. “Yeah, I don’t want to waste any of our time with him. We have no clue how long he’ll be staying here for so I don’t want to miss a second!”

The enthusiasm was more like Jongdae, thought Minseok. He watched Jongdae psych himself up and they shared a whispered “Fighting!”   
They had agreed that if it seemed like now was an okay time they would go for it and ask Baekhyun for his opinion. It was a little weird, the longer Baekhyun was around the more Minseok feared he’d disappear soon.

The door appeared and Minseok squeezed Jongdae’s hand before they went in. Baekhyun was pottering around as usual clearly waiting for them to come in. They set about making themselves comfortable before settling into an easy peace. Minseok was reading up on theory and Baekhyun was excitedly telling Jongdae about an animation charm he’d just managed to get working.

 

They came over to show him. It was a little figure dancing to ‘Hug’. “Look, look Minseok! We got it working. Look, It’s working perfectly.”   
Minseok looked from Baekhyun’s excited face to the animation. It worked as he said it did. “It does look great! You’ve got the dance routine perfect as well. Can you show me how you did it?”

Baekhyun nodded enthusiastically and demonstrated step by step. It was then that the house elves had sent up their tea. “Want to do this after tea then?” Minseok asked.

So they sat down and tucked into the spread of cakes,biscuits and treats. Jongdae’s stomach felt like milk had been added before it was put in a blender to become a milkshake. He was very nervous. “So Baekhyun,” He winced at the voice crack. Of all times to have a tremor in his voice. “Umm Minseok and I were discussing and -”  
Baekhyun made a noise of agreement as he reached for the shortbread.  
“We like you.” Jongdae blurted out.  
Baekhyun’s shortbread started to crumble in the awkward pause. “Uh, I like you guys too?” He said unsure of what they were saying.  
Minseok fought back a face palm. This was not going to plan. “What Jongdae meant to say is that, we both had a discussion and… well… we both like you. Romantically. As in we’d love if we could officially go on dates. That type of like.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun said after another pause. More of his shortbread crumbled. Minseok and Jongdae stared at him expectantly and he reddened. “Um, That’s good? I don’t know. I like you both but would you guys not have issues adding someone to your relationship?” He asked.  
Minseok shook his head. “We talked about it and we both like you so it’s not an issue. We also agreed that communication was the way to go so we could avoid any possible issue.”  
Baekhyun nodded. “I don’t know what to say?”  
Jongdae resisted the urge to yell ‘Say yes!’ and tried to give some reasonable ideas. “We could have a trial date? Like most of what we do here is living out someone’s dream date. There’s no pressure to answer right away and no matter what you say we’ll still be coming round etc. (unless you don’t want us to).”

Baekhyun thought on it for a second. “I think I’ll say yes. You and Minseok have both done so much for me and are so funny, kind and wonderful.”  
Minseok gave a little squeal of excitement before becoming extremely embarrassed for the very high pitched sound he had just made. Baekhyun giggled.

The atmosphere was really light. Baekhyun remembered to eat his shortbread and Jongdae and Minseok shared a look of relief as they got started on the cupcakes. “Oh hey, Baekhyun. Stay still you’ve got something on your face.” Jongdae said. Baekhyun obediently sat still. Jongdae’s fingers brushed lightly over his cheeks before moving his face to the side and kissing his cheek.  
“It was me.” He deadpanned after he moved away.   
Baekhyun was blushing and stuttering and Minseok was laughing. “Oh wait Baekhyun, You have something on the other side of your face.” Minseok said in between giggles. He shyly pecked Baekhyun. “It was me.”

That night they cuddled and Baekhyun finally got to openly compliment them on everything. He pouted when Minseok refused his praise saying that Baekhyun was ‘cuter’ than him and tackled Minseok to cuddle him. Jongdae lept on top and it soon became a little cuddle pile in the middle of the room. They basked in happiness and stayed there until curfew came. Minseok and Jongdae reluctantly peeled themselves away from Baekhyun. Baekhyun fidgeted with the end of his top. “You’ll both be back tomorrow?”   
Minseok patted the top of his head gently. “And all the days after that.”  
“We’ve only just got you”, Jongdae chimed in, “we want more of the Byun Baekhyun experience!”  
They both gently kissed the top of his head before going back to their respective common rooms. Baekhyun flopped back on the ground and tried his best not to scream. Somehow not one but two awesome hot guys had confessed to him and those two were Minseok and Jongdae?

He couldn’t wait to do something officially date-y. Already he had experienced the best dates he’d ever been on and that was before they were official. Official - Baekhyun’s heart raced whenever he thought of the word. He may have been exclusively hanging out with them before today but it would feel different. Baekhyun got ready for bed and fell asleep thinking of picnics, movie dates, board games, and karaoke. 

Baekhyun woke up after dreaming of seas of flowers and colourful beach huts. After the initial confusion that comes with being awake (it never really goes away) he remembered what happened yesterday. Remembering his dream again he thought of dates with Minseok and Jongdae by the sea. Walks on the beach, sharing ice cream and running into the water. He really wanted to go on a beach date. It was one of the things Baekhyun had seen in dramas and movies and always wanted to experience. Whenever he thought a relationship was going well he would plan a beach date. It had never happened. Hopefully with Minseok and Jongdae it will.

Baekhyun spent his morning doing nothing and everything all at once. He was both nervous and excited. Yes it was moving a little fast to be dating two people when they confessed yesterday but Baekhyun felt so happy he couldn’t fault himself. He moved from activity to activity, too restless to commit to one. He read another chapter of his book, practiced some harder transfigurations, tried to build a house of cards and he even tried drawing a mini-him. All in all he just couldn’t wait for Minseok and Jongdae to come back. He laughed a little at that, imagining his corgi patronus just sitting at the door of the room, wagging its tail and patiently waiting for its owners to return.

Whenever he could hear footsteps he would still despite knowing that Minseok and Jongdae wouldn't be coming for a while. By the time they arrived he was half convinced that he was going crazy. Baekhyun was so close to asking for two stuffed animals and calling them Minseok and Jongdae.

When they came into the room Baekhyun scrambled up from the beanbag he was sprawled over. He swore that he was holding back tears. He ran to embrace the two of them. “Uhh, Baekhyun?” Jongdae asked unsure if something had upset him.  
“You were both gone for so long!” Baekhyun exclaimed.  
“We were gone for 3 hours Baekhyun. We've left you to your own devices for the vast majority of the day before.”  
Baekhyun may’ve huffed a little at that fact. “It felt like longer, ok?” He said before mumbling “and also I really wanted to see the two of you.”

Minseok exchange a look with Jongdae. He patted Baekhyun’s head reassuringly. “We were excited to see you again too. He was so excited 2 different professors had a go at him for not focusing.I also heard him mutter something about painting on roller skates, so there’s that.”  
Jongdae whined and pushed Minseok hand away from him. “That wasn’t what I said! I just said it might be nice to have an official date that we can keep mementos from.But if you don’t want to then it’s fine.”

Baekhyun turned his head to look Jongdae in the eyes. “That is such a lovely thoughtful idea! When should we do it?”

Jongdae blushed. “Uhhh, now? But just painting. I don’t have the coordination to paint and do other things at the same time.”   
As he was gay panicking under both Baekhyun and Minseok’s fond stares the room decided to put him out of his misery by making 3 easels appear.   
“Look! Canvases.” He exclaimed dragging the other two with him. They all checked out the easels. “These seem pretty fancy. As do the brushes and paints. This was a good idea Jongdae. So what are we going to paint?” Minseok asked.  
“Um, I didn’t think of that part?” Jongdae admitted a little sheepishly.   
Baekhyun’s laugh eased his self-consciousness. “Why don’t we just paint each other? It’s a thing you hear or read about and we can pretend to be in one of those over the top dramas!”  
Minseok smiled at the last point of Baekhyun’s proposal. “Sounds good! Shall we paint the person on our left or should we just paint the other two?”

Jongdae thought seriously. “Paint the other two.” He decided and so they did.

They laughed when Baekhyun managed to get paint on his nose and laughed even harder when, in an attempt to get it off, Minseok managed to get paint on himself as well. And they wouldn’t let Jongdae remain paint free, oh no. 

After everyone had finished painting their canvases and each other they took it in turns to gently wipe their faces. “That was really fun.” Baekhyun confessed as he wiped the purple off Minseok’s cheek.   
“Yep. This is the most fun I’ve had all year. Better than the time you made Luhan walk around with antlers until he figured out the counter!” Minseok agreed.  
“There’s a spell for that? And does that mean all our time together meant nothing?” Baekhyun dramatically joked.  
“Fear not, Baekhyun. I’ll defend your honour from this vile man.” Jongdae played along.

“Anteoculatia is the spell by the way” Minseok added once they’d stopped giggling and Baekhyun and Jongdae had stopped acting out Shakespeare’s tragedies. “Don’t try it here!” Jongdae warned Baekhyun who was practicing the incantation.   
“Luhan had the antlers for a week, it’s a really complicated to counter!”  
“No it’s not you just never help your victims” Minseok muttered.  
Baekhyun caught the little retort and couldn’t help laughing. He cuddled in happily to Minseok and Jongdae. They were nice and warm. 

Days seemed like hours and weeks like months. They had many fun and amazing dates each different from the last. They had picnics, pillow fort battles (Minseok managed to construct a magical trebuchet. It was a slaughter), study sessions and star watching. To someone else they might be only little things but to Baekhyun it was the world. Everything was made better by a gentle kiss from both of them and the world felt right when he was sandwiched between them, leeching off their warmth. 

Everyday was a good day when he got to hang out with them. Sometimes there were lonely days where Minseok and Jongdae had other commitments but those were so few and far between that they were inconsequential.

One day they even managed to get some ingredients from the house elfs (Minseok went down to beg) and tried to make cupcakes together. Tried being the keyword as Baekhyun was hopeless, Jongdae spent too long laughing at Baekhyun and Minseok got worried about the state of the counter. The result was almost as magical as Hogwarts. Mismatched in size, uniform only in their colour scheme and drowning in sprinkles. They were beautiful.  
Another time they played Gin Rummy. They only played three rounds before giving up as Minseok was just too good. Baekhyun had suggested uno but after one round they stopped agreeing that their relationship wasn’t strong enough to survive one more +4 card. Monopoly was shot down as soon as it was brought up. Mario Kart was jokingly suggested but due to Hogwarts and electronics (and the possibility of falling out over a blue shell) they never got round to it.

Baekhyun was getting to the stage where every time he thought their relationship couldn’t get better he was proved wrong. Midnight confessions and honest discussions made what was between them so much more tangible. 

It was also fun to simply lounge about the room and talk about memories. Favourite dates they had, crazy exes, what their first impressions were of each other and embarrassing childhood moments.

Today was another one of those days. Baekhyun had just looked over at Minseok and Jongdae and suddenly burted out. ”I love you both so much. I just wish I could turn back time and confess sooner.”   
Jongdae laughed. “But we have all the time we need!”  
Minseok agreed. “It's never too late. But Baekhyun we enjoyed our time with you before we were dating.”

Baekhyun saw something appear behind him from the corner of his eye. He picked it up and fidgeted with it not noticing what he was doing. “Baekhyun, what's that?” Minseok asked noticing him turning it over in his hands. “Something the room gave me,” Baekhyun answered. He opened his hands to show Minseok not really caring much about it. He was too busy thinking about their best dates and the time before they dated.

Jongdae leant forward and made a choked noise. “Baekhyun,’ he said sounding terrified. “Don’t look down at your hands and drop what you're holding. Now.”  
So of course Baekhyun had to freaking look down. In his hands, innocently spinning, was Junmyeon’s time turner. “No!” Minseok cried, “You can’t drop it. Whoever spun it will travel either way. No matter how long you spin it for you’ll go back to your own time. To restore the balance.”

Baekhyun stared down at his hands as he turned the glass in his hands over and over. Over and over. “What should I do?” He asked as tear welled up in his eyes. The blurred image of the moving glass etching itself into his head.  
Minseok was frantically blinking to clear away the start of a flood of tears. “We can’t come with you. Future us are out there. The universe might restore the balance but we can’t mess with time. We can’t go Baekhyun.”  
“Bullshit!” Jongdae yelled. “We can’t just end things like this! I refuse.”  
Baekhyun spoke up his quiet resigned voice a stark contrast to Jongdae’s anguished yell. “I’m going to have to. I’m going to have to go back alone.”

Minseok’s cheeks were now wet with tears. Jongdae wasn’t much better. Baekhyun looked at them and burst. “I don't want to go! Don’t make me go!” He was crying so much it hurt to breathe. His loud sobs were staccato with his heavy breathes as he forced the words through. “I-I love you both so much. Please don’t forget me!” Baekhyun went to rub his eyes and as he did so the time-turner dropped and landed.

Time seemed to stop. Baekhyun watched as if through a glass window as Minseok’s eyes widened, as Jongdae began to shout. “Baek, We could never forget you.”  
Minseok started to run towards him. “We love y-”

He couldn’t finish the last word before Baekhyun was gone. He was here, but now he was gone. 

The world was turning. Everything was flipped on its head. Baekhyun felt so dizzy and sick and unwell. Snatches of yells arrived at his ears but he was too busy trying not to empty his stomach to hear them. The world settled, went black and Baekhyun fell down on the floor. 

He could hear some yells but they seemed so very far away. He was very sleepy. Baekhyun could feel himself being lightly shaken. He groaned gently in response before he felt himself being lifted up and away. He relished in the somewhat familiar warmth and cuddled into it. 

He was being bumped around a little but it was mostly smooth so Baekhyun tried to get back to sleep. A familiar voice kept telling him stuff but he wasn’t aware enough to listen or care. 

Baekhyun was put gently down. “Come on Baekhyun, Wake up!” A voice implored. He rubbed his eyes before opening them. He was in a dimly lit room with people that seemed familiar. He was on the sofa in some sort of room with a desk at the end. Ah. “professors Kim? What am I doing here?” Baekhyun asked. The younger professor choked. “Why am I here?” He continued “I just had charms and I don’t have transfiguration until Wednesday.”  
“I’m going to go inform the head.” Jongdae, no, professor Kim announced before fleeing out of the room.   
“Jongdae!” The elder Kim yelled at his partner’s retreating back before shaking his head and turning to Baekhyun.  
“Baekhyun,” professor Kim started with worry in his voice before pausing “Please tell me about what you remember happening most recently.”

He was confused but did so anyway. Baekhyun thought and furrowed his forehead in concentration. “I had charms, was walking with Junmyeon in the courtyard, something fell out of his bag and then I ended up here. Did I faint?”  
He turned to Minseok, no professor Kim, and was shocked to see tears in his eyes. “Sir?” He asked, “What’s happening? What did I do?”  
His questions were ignored. “Are you sure that’s all you remember?” Professor Kim, implored.   
Baekhyun nodded a little afraid of the desperation in his eyes. He jumped when professor Kim’s fist hit the desk.  
“Sorry” He said after a pause. “Sorry for that Baekhyun.”  
Baekhyun was feeling a little freaked out. The strength and anger professor Kim hit the desk with was not normal.

Deputy head professor Bae rushed in with professor Zhang. “Thank Merlin you’re here Baekhyun!” She exclaimed. The younger professor Kim followed behind. Baekhyun was feeling more and more confused. It felt like he was missing out on something big. Professor Kim was explaining something to Zhang and the other professor Kim.  
“Why am I here? What happened?”He asked for what felt like the a hundredth time. Professor Zhang stepped forward and explained with his customary gentleness. “Your friend Junmyeon was given special permission to own a time turner so to attend more classes. Unfortunately you were caught up in an accident with it. I’ve been told you remember walking with him, yes? That was two weeks ago. You’ve been missing since. Your friends were very worried and the gryffindors have been in mourning. But you’re here now. Yet you can't remember what might’ve happened when you were gone?”  
Baekhyun shook his head slowly as he processed the information. “Nothing, sorry.” He felt sad and empty and confused and tired. Luckily professor Bae seemed to notice so she got Zhang to take him to the infirmary just to make sure he was ok. Baekhyun couldn’t help but look back at the professors Kim. They appeared to be grieving but what for.

Zhang noticed his curious stare and commented. “They were horrified and very worried when we found out what happened to you. You’re a lucky person Baekhyun, to have so many people care about you.”  
To that Baekhyun gave a non committal hum. When they reached the infirmary Baekhyun crawled into a bed and was out like a light.

When he came to his friends were crowding his bed and there were teary reunions. Baekhyun spent another few days in the hospital wing just to make sure he was ok. Almost the entire school visited him other than the professors Kim. But he didn’t think about them too much, they only knew him in passing after all.

The rest of the year was spent catching up on work and making memories with his friends before they would all disperse into the world. Kyungsoo and Junmyeon into academia, Chanyeol into a musical instrument apprenticeship and Baekhyun to wherever his feet would take him. He scored well in exams, doing better in charms and transfiguration than previously thought. But there was always something missing. An ache that urged to be filled. Something that left him unsatisfied. When he confessed this feeling to Chanyeol he was told to take a gap year. The logic being that he’d experienced something traumatic even if he couldn’t remember it and that a year abroad would help him in many ways. Also it would totally buff up his CV.

It was after graduation when Baekhyun was doing his final tour of the castle that he ran into professors Kim. “Well done Baekhyun.” The older one said.  
“Thanks!” He answered happily, his mind on the cake Kyungsoo promised him. “Have a good life.” The other wished him.   
But Baekhyun was already walking away. Although he could feel a small pull to look back he resisted. Baekhyun started to reflect on professors Kim and their weird behaviour. He stops before he starts reminiscing. Baekhyun has no time to get stuck in the past, his future has only just begun.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> It's not perfect by a long shot but I enjoyed writing this~ Please drop a comment if you see a heinous error that can't be ignored.


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